Monday, January 12, 2015

Engine bench mount, inspector

Made the engine bench mount on the bench. Had to do a little modding on the mounts, but then the engine fits. Now I am only waiting for gasket stuff from Sandelwing before I can start putting the engine together.

Finished filing/deburring the brake mounts and primed them, as well as the titanium tail wheel leg/spring. Titanium is one of the most corrosion resistant metals there is, only gold is better. But it is also high up on the galvanic scale close to gold, aluminium is on the other end. There is no way titanium will corrode, but the galvanic potential makes it extremely hazardous for the aluminium, much more so than stainless steel. The best way to prevent any sort of galvanic corrosion to the aluminium is therefore to prime the surface of the titanium. When mounting it, I will also use some Duralac.

Had a visit from my inspector. He is head of maintenance on Helitrans at Værnes. A Helicopter company with approximately 20 helicopters. He was very pleased with everything. There is a large chance I can do the last mounting and testing at their heated hangar. I really hope that works out because I have no other places to go that is close by.

Essentials

Other builders

Why a Onex?

The Onex is unique. It is a single seater, powered by a VW engine, it's aerobatic and it has folding wings.

What happened to my RV-4? it's put on hold for the time being. I have to have an airplane up and running, and a new Onex kit is a faster and cheaper way to achieve that even though the RV-4 is almost half way there. Due to the folding wings, I can actually see a way to place it on Værnes airfield as well, a thing I still cannot see happen with my RV-4, which is important for the motivation.

All in all the Onex has charm like no other. It is also the quintessential homebuilt aircraft, even the engine has to be put together by the builder.